Racks of various designs are commercially available for mounting on pick-up trucks and passenger-type automotive vehicles. The pick-up truck racks are mounted on the top surface of the pick-up bed side walls by means of plates that bolt through the sheet metal of the top rail. Some types include a flat plate that runs the fore-aft length of the bed rail.
Automotive racks may be mounted to the drip rails, or directly to the top sheet metal of the vehicle. They may be after-market, or part of the vehicle design as made by the automaker. Racks of this type are mounted on cars, vans, SUVs and work vans. They are used for carrying suitcases, skis, surfboards, mattresses, ladders and the like. In the case of work vans, Stevens U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,095 is directed to a side mount carrier for a work van that includes an outrigger bracket the bolts to the underframe of the vehicle. This assembly extends into the roadside, and effectively makes the vehicle several feet wider. Dainty U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,750 provides a framework that extends over the top of a vehicle with mounts that bolt through the side walls of the vehicle. The side rails act as guides for a special carrier frame on which a ladder to be carried is secured and then slid up and over onto the top of the vehicle.
Workmen, particularly in the construction trades, typically have over $10,000 worth of equipment that they take to the job sites. Since there is a lot of theft from job sites and these tradesmen often must travel to and from many different sites in a relatively short period of time, ranging from daily to monthly, they store their tools in lockable, closed “box” job trailers. One such type is called a “Wells Cargo-type” trailer. A typical 2-axle trailer has a box enclosure 14′ long by 6′ wide by 6′ tall, with double doors in the rear. Optionally there is a side door. The doors are lockable with pad-locks. A workman will have all his power tools, supplies, generator, work lights, vices, saw horses, radio, microwave, change of clothing, special weather gear, and the like, stored therein. The trailers may be left on site overnight, and wheel locks are used to secure the trailers from roll-away theft.
However, where the workman needs ladders, long sections of tubing, corrugated drain pipes, hoses, 4′×8′ sheet goods, walk-boards, large tarps, and the like, those are generally carried on the workman's truck that is used to tow the loaded trailer, typically a full sized pick-up. The ladders are typically step ladders and extension type ladders having two or more sections of length from 6-20′ in length. Once on the job, the ladders are secured at night to the framing of the building under construction by cables or chains and locks. However that does not prevent theft of the ladders, which is accomplished simply by sawing through the framing member, such as a 2×4.
There is an unmet need in the art for a rack for job trailers that permits the workman to carry all his gear, including ladders, sheet goods, piping, lumber and the like, and which permits locking such items for security.